City of Drowned Souls was published on 6 February 2017 by Canelo and is available to buy here

When a child disappears, the clock starts ticking

Detective Elisenda Domènech has had a tough few years. The loss of her daughter and a team member; the constant battles against colleagues and judges; the harrowing murder investigations… But it’s about to get much worse.

When the son of a controversial local politician goes missing at election time, Elisenda is put on the case. They simply must solve it. Only the team also have to deal with a spate of horrifically violent break-ins. People are being brutalised in their own homes and the public demands answers.

Could there be a connection? Why is nobody giving a straight answer? And where is Elisenda’s key informant, apparently vanished off the face of the earth? With the body count threatening to increase and her place in the force on the line, the waters are rising…

Be careful not to drown.

The stunning new instalment of the gripping Elisenda Domènech crime thrillers for readers of Ian Rankin, Henning Mankell and Andrea Camilleri.

Hooray for another adventure for Elisenda, my favourite Catalan detective! City of Drowned Souls is the third outing for Elisenda Domenech. It follows on beautifully from City of Good Death and City of Buried Ghosts. I do recommend reading them one after the other.

For those of you new to this series, Catalonia is a mostly independent region of Spain. A good comparison would be Scotland, in the UK, from what I understand. They have their own police force, language and culture, such as the prominence of a local judge in the investigation of a crime. Elisenda Domenech runs the Serious Crime Unit, in Girona.

When we last saw Elisenda, she was struggling to deal with the tragic death of her young daughter. Her daughter was killed in a plane crash, along with her ex-husband a few years ago. She hears and sometimes sees visions of her little Lina. Elisenda finds herself on leave, being forced to go for bereavement counselling by her boss. However the disappearance of the teenager of a local controversial politician leads to Elisenda returning to the fold. There are also some rather violent burglaries happening in the area, that Elisenda is keen to solve.

The local politican is one Susanna Miravent, a woman who is anti-independence/pro Spain in the very independent Catalonia. Unusually, she had another son that went missing a few years ago and is now presumed dead. Miravent and her husband seem more interested in the results of the upcoming election, than worrying too much about the triviality of another missing child. What has happened to young Jaume Comas Miravent? Has he been taken for revenge or is something more sinister going on?

I just LOVE this series! It is one gorgeous bundle of crime filled delight, wrapped up in a sunny climate and sprinkled with Catalan culture. It feels like this series has really taken off, with City of Drowned Souls. This is the best story yet, Chris Lloyd. There is something for everyone; a stonking mystery or two with an ace twist, a cold politican, Elisenda and her counselling, loss and bereavement played out, plus more about politics of the region.

I couldn’t help feeling sorry for Elisenda. Over the course of the three books, I feel I know her. I like her! She deserves a little happiness. I am crossing my fingers for her, especially after that ending.

Fabulous! Chris Lloyd, your book rocked! I now have major withdrawal symptoms.